In the days before global
positioning systems, Mapquest, and Google Earth, men were stereotyped as
reluctant to ask for directions. You know the scene: a couple is driving
somewhere and, unable to find their destination, the wife turns to her husband
and says, "Honey, maybe we should stop and ask for directions." The husband,
dismayed that his wife would dare challenge his sense of direction, stubbornly
says, "I know where I'm going!" This would go on and on until they eventually
found the place or fell so far behind schedule that they would have no choice
but to stop at the nearest gas station for directions.

Thanks to modern technology,
those days are gone forever! In this day and age it's virtually impossible to
get lost. However, a GPS may be able to get you from Portland to Chicago;
Mapquest may be able to get you to your favorite downtown restaurant; Google
Earth may show you the best route from New York to Australia but no amount of
technology in the world will get you from earth to heaven!

What Jesus says in the
Gospel is true of many men today: we are "troubled and abandoned, like sheep
without a shepherd." [1] When a man would rather spend time looking at pornography
or "hanging out with the fellas" than have any meaningful relationship with his
wife and children, he is lost. When a man approaches dating as a conquest,
where the primary goal is to "hit it and quit it," he is lost. When a man
becomes wealthy at the expense of the poor, he is lost. When a man under the
influence of drugs or alcohol beats his wife, passing on a legacy of violence
and abuse to his children, he is lost.

Just as Jesus called
laborers into the field to reap an abundant harvest of souls, He calls husbands
and fathers who are lost to use the navigational tools of prayer, forgiveness,
and mercy to find our way back to our Father in heaven. Just as Jesus called
men to the priesthood to serve His Bride the Church, the same Jesus calls men
through baptism to be priests of the domestic church, the church of the home.
A husband and father should exercise his priestly ministry through "the
offering he makes of himself and his daily activities." [2] This offering
should be united to Christ's offering in the Eucharist "for their work,
prayers, and apostolic endeavors, their ordinary married and family life, their
daily labor, their mental and physical relaxation, if carried on in the
spirit--and even the hardships of life, if patiently borne--all of these become
spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ." [3] The main
job of the priest is to offer sacrifice, and the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass
should lead fathers to intimate and personal relationship with God, uniting him
so closely to Christ that the Eucharist becomes the very soul and center of his
spiritual and family life.

The priest of the home must
accept the responsibility of living "the Gospel in faith and proclaiming
it in word and deed, without hesitating to identify and denounce evil."
[4] Christian parents are the primary and indispensable catechists of their own
children. Fathers are not only called to preach the Gospel but also, and above
all, to live the Gospel by
setting a good example for their children. If our children see us living the
Catholic faith with fidelity and joy, then we can be sure that our example will
be worth more than a thousand words and have confidence that our love for
Christ will be written into the hearts of our sons and daughters. When we do
this, the Catholic faith will become more than a fond memory that fades with
time. A father's living witness to covenant intimacy will become his enduring
legacy, a precious gift for his children, and a sure sign of hope in God's
endless mercy and love.

Before any of this can
happen, we fathers must have the courage to take the first big step: we must
dethrone the reign of sin in our lives so that we can welcome Jesus Christ as
Lord of our lives. Any man can be a daddy but it takes a real man to be a
father, and the sooner we earthly fathers begin to appreciate the great gift we
have been given and begin living the mission of service to our families--when
we begin to make a gift of ourselves to our wives and children, and participate
deeply and personally in the Fatherhood of God--the faster we will arrive at a
civilization of love and a culture of life.

I remember the day my
relationship with my father changed forever. When I informed him of my
decision to join the Benedictines, not only was he disappointed; he was angry.
What he said went something like this: "You're going to do what?!" He then
reminded me: "You are the first person in the family to go to college. I
spent all that money sending you to one of the best universities in the country.
You studied economics and business, and instead of making something of
yourself, you are going to waste your life in that monastery living with a
bunch of men? What's wrong with you? What am I supposed to tell my friends?"
I won't repeat what I said to him but on that day he became like Lazarus in the
tomb; he became dead to me.

Many years later when my
EWTN series debuted, my father received lots of phone calls: "Isn't that your
son on TV?" My father, who as far as I knew only set foot in a Catholic church
on his wedding day, began watching my program. Then he began watching the
Mass. Then he started watching reruns of Mother Angelica. Then he started
praying. My father, a professional entertainer, decided to stop singing
Caribbean music and started singing and recording Gospel music exclusively.
Then, like Lazarus coming out of the tomb, he called me and we spoke for
thirty-one minutes and twelve seconds, which is the longest conversation we've
had in almost twenty years. He spent most of the call talking to me about his
relationship with Jesus.

A few months ago, I was
shown the awesome power of prayer, forgiveness, and divine mercy. After years
of not having a meaningful relationship with the man who destroyed our family,
I met face-to-face with my father. I did not hear the words of repentance that
I so longed to hear from him. Instead, this talented and gifted musician who
was lost and who only now after seventy-four years is coming to faith in Jesus
Christ, showed me the meaning of fatherhood by his example when he sang this
song:

"O Lord, sweet Jesus, have
mercy on me.
My eyes were wide open, yet I failed to see.
Dear Lord, I beg
you have mercy; please, have mercy on me.
I am so sorry. Lord, forgive me.
Please show me the way.
I can't go on living this life without you.
Sweet
Jesus, please tell me what to do.
Lord, I'm depending on you.
I want to live
a life that's honest and true.
I will let nothing stand in my way.
Sweet
Jesus, please hear my prayer.
O Lord, teach me how to pray,
I beg you, because
at times I know not what to say
but when I think of Calvary I know my Jesus
loves me.
Dear Lord, I beg you have mercy."

Deacon
Harold Burke-Sivers, MTS is a deacon in the Archdiocese of Portland, Oregon, and
the founder of Aurem
Cordis, an apostolate dedicated "to promote the truth and beauty
of the gospel by encouraging others to submit themselves freely to the
life-giving love of the Trinity and to become living witnesses to that
love in the world." Deacon Burke-Sivers gives talks around the country
on spirituality, family life, lay vocations, and other topics, and has
appeared on "Catholic Answers Live", EWTN, and many local television and
radio programs. He has a BA in economics from Notre Dame and an MTS from
the University of Dallas. He, his wife Colleen, and their four children
live in Portland, Oregon.

Visit
the Insight Scoop Blog and read the latest posts and comments by
IgnatiusInsight.com staff and readers about current events, controversies,
and news in the Church!